St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-05-19
HOW TO AVOID PREMATURE OLD
AGE.

The following good advice is given
by DR.. Benjamin Ward Richardson !:
The rules for the prevention of senile
diseases are all personal. They should
begin in youth. 1t should be a rule
among grown up persons never to sub
iect children to mental shocks and un-
necessary grief. When, in the sur
rounding of child life, some grave ca
lamity has occurred, it is best to make
the event as light us possible to the
child, and certainly to avoid thrilling
it with sights and details which stir it
to the utmost and in the end only leave
upon the mind and heart incurable
wounds and expressions. Children
should never be taken to funerals, nor
to sights that cause a sense of fear and
dread combined with great grief, nor
to sights which call forth pain or ago
ny in man or the lower animals.
To avoid premature old age in ma
ture life, the following are important
points to remember:
Grief anticipates age. Dwelling on
the inevitable past, forming vain hy
pOtheses as to what might have been
if that or this had happened, acquiring
a craze for recOunting what has occur
red-these acts do more harm to future
health and effort than many things
connected with real calamity. Occu
patton and new pursuits are the best
preventives for mental shock and be-
reavement.
Hate anticipates age. Hate keeps
the heart always at full tension. 1t
gives rise to oppression of the brain
and senses. 1t cOnfuses the whole
man. 1t rObs the stomach of nervous
power, and digestion being impaired,
the failure of life begins at once. Those
therefore, who are born with this pas
siOn-and a good many l fear are
should give it up.
Jealousy anticipates age. The facial
expression of jealousy is old age, in
however young face it may be cast.
Jealousy preys upon and kills the
heart. So jealous men are not only
unhappy, but broken hearted, and
live short lives. / have never known
"a man of jealous nature live anything
like Il long ora useful life. The pre-
ventiOn of jealousy is diversion of mind
toward useful and unselfish work.
Unchastity anticipates age. Every
thing that interferes with chastity fa-
vors vital deterioration, while the
grosser departure from chastity, lead
ing to specific and hereditary diseases,
ton and premature old age. Thus
chastity is preventive of senile decay.
Incompetence anticipates age. The
more social causes of mental and phys
ical organic diseases are investigated,
the more closely the origin of degener-
ative organic changes leading to pre-
mature deterioration and decay are
questioned, the more closely does it
come out that intemperance, often not
suspected by the person himself who
is implicated in it, so subtle is its in
fuence, is at the root of evil.
When old age has really commenced,
it's march toward final decay is best
delayed by attention to those rules of
conversation by which life is sustained
with the least friction and the least
waste.
The prime rules for this purpose are:
To subsist on light but nutritious
diet, with milk us the standard food,
but varied according to season.
To take food in moderate quantity
four times day, including IA light
meal before going to bed.
To clothe warmly, but lightly, so
that the body may in all seasons main
tain an equal temperature.
TO keep the body in fair exercise and
the mind active and cheerful.
TO maintain all interest in what is
going Oh in the world, and to take
part in reasonable labors and pleas
ures, as though old age were not pres
ent.
To take plenty of sleep during sleep
ing hours TO spend nine hours in bed
at the least, and to take care during
cold weather that the temperature of
the bed room is maintained at 600 Fab |
renheit.
To avoid passion, excitement, luxu-